


Lover-Cares

by OMGitsgreen



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Anal Sex, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Future Fic, M/M, Relationship Discussions, Sexual Content, Sexuality, Will and Nico are soft boyfriends, and are so good to each other, hopefully you've got insurance, so fluffy you might need to go to the dentist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:10:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9096610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsgreen/pseuds/OMGitsgreen
Summary: "Will wasn’t a fragile creature that Nico might break with talons and beak. Maybe Will would look at his limbs which were cracked and marred like a barren boughs and find something beautiful there." In the reflective days between Christmas and New Years, Nico learns more about his desires and their roots. As well as the boy who is making them blossom.





	1. Lover-Cares

**Author's Note:**

> It’s those reflective days between Christmas and New Years, and it’s time to write some weird sex stuff because what else do I do in my spare time let’s be real. No but really, Nico actually discovering himself and more about his sexuality is oddly super important to me, and that’s basically it plus Will being an awesome supportive boyfriend. Just remember kids, it’s all about good decision and being informed.

Will kissed him and Nico thought his heart was about to jump into his throat.

It was not that Nico and Will hadn’t kissed before. That would be simply untrue. They had been dating for over a year now, and Nico thought he had known the breadth of kisses. Of good bye kisses and kisses between bites of cookies and kisses in the morning when Will’s mouth was still drowsy and warm. Skimming from a honeypot was what Nico would compare it to, warm and sweet and ready to give more to those greedy to ask. But Nico wasn’t greedy, and despite Will’s open nature he could be conversely very shy to offer. On top of that Will was blessed with nearly unimaginable patience, and the instincts of a healer. He would never push, and his first instincts was to check Nico for injuries, and bundle Nico up from head to toe and set him by the fire and try to rub his feet while simultaneously feeding him animal crackers.

And yet leaning against the wall together, with his mouth against Will’s, the barest brush of tongue, Nico felt something different then he had ever felt before. Will’s leg was between Nico, and Nico’s arms wrapped around his neck as Will’s fingers slipped against the skin of his back and reverently stroked against his spine. Shivers burst across his skin, and Nico felt as if he might burst from the seams keeping him together. It felt so good, Nico thought, trying to pull Will in closer—closer. And he wanted…he wanted…!

Will’s leg pressed more firmly, pleasure trickled down Nico’s spine, and Nico’s heart burst into his throat uninvited. His head jerked backwards as his arms flailed out, his back smacked into the wall and a riot of pain shot through his shoulders. Will’s weight was gone, as he scrambled back, his eyes blown wide, his cheeks ruddy as if just as surprised about the turn of events as Nico was.

“Oh my gods, Nico, I’m so sorry I—“ Will’s words came stunned and perplexed and halting. “Are you okay—did I…I’m so sorry.”

“Uh,” was Nico’s eloquent and thoughtful response, his heartbeat still pulsing wetly and wildly in his ears. His attention was splintering fast in his odd panic, catching glimpses of Will’s face darkening red like a sunset—or maybe literally because the sun was setting spilling out red and orange across Will’s sweet face and the snow outside the armory. “Did I…um…hurt you?”

“Hurt me?” Will’s voice pitched high.

“When I pulled back, did I punch you?” Nico asked him worried as he let his knees give out and knelt by Will’s side to grab Will’s arm, his face was still burning but Nico was trying desperately to ignore that because he may have hurt Will. “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me.”

“Look at us, we’re such a mess,” Will said with a mirthful grin that wasn’t hurt to Nico’s great relief. “It’s okay, I’m fine. Are you okay? I’m really sorry, I didn’t ask you before I did any of that.”

“You pretty much always ask me before you kiss me,” Nico grumbled, resisting the urge to fan himself, despite the chill that was beginning to set in. It was another of Will’s impossibly sweet habits, and he had asked Nico and Nico had wanted so badly to kiss him. “I’m fine, really, I promise.”

“That was…um…a little more than kissing,” Will said awkwardly, palming the back of his pinked neck. “I’m sorry if I did something that made you uncomfortable…I got caught up in the moment and didn’t ask you or anything. That won’t happen again, I promise.” 

_What was that?_ Nico wanted to ask, but suddenly the words were caked to the top of his mouth and he couldn’t get them out. He wanted to comfort Will, because he was looking so guilty beneath his sheepish smile and wide blue eyes, but like always during these important moments Nico couldn’t figure out what so say.

And in that moment, Ellis Wakefield decided to burst into the armory. He took one look at both Nico and Will sitting on the floor and scoffed.

“What are you guys doing, painting nails?” Ellis asked with a sneer.

Will yelled after Nico as Nico chased Ellis Wakefield down and kicked him face first into a snowbank.

* * *

The rest of the night and the next day Nico was stuck on what had happened between him and Will, and it didn’t help that it was that empty time of year between Christmas and New Years were the snow piled up and the winter felt long and reflective. Stuck or stumped was the real question. He didn’t necessarily avoid Will, however, Nico ducked quickly out of the dining pavilion to wander about the near empty camp in order to straighten out his thoughts. He couldn’t stop thinking back to that moment just before he had stopped it (whatever it was), and how good it felt before the panic had struck. Could things feel too good? Nico thought to himself. And since when did kissing get too good? That was stuff for fanciful tales and buzzing TV sets and the movie posters, things that Nico thought belonged in an exclusive club that Nico didn’t have access too.

Things could feel too good when they were more than kissing, Nico thought somewhat miserably as he minded a piece of ice with the toe of his boot. Nico definitely didn’t know anything about the foggy valley of more-than-kissing, and he didn’t know much about what came afterwards after crossing it. But there was a name for it, which made Nico cringe. Nico didn’t know much about sex. It was an abstract hazy thing, a well-kept secret. What would Nico needed to have known before Will? Who would have explained anything to him if he had dared to ask?

What he did know about sex—or lovemaking, was between men and women, not between men. Even then it was a rough outline with ill-defined edges rather than a firmly established real thing that people actually did. Normal kids his age had the luxury of school and friends and videos and internet to help them fill in the blanks, and Nico had been filling his time running from monsters wishing to rake his skin open and drink his blood. And besides that while drowning in his black pit of self-hatred and denial, the idea of wanting or projecting desire onto another person hadn’t even occurred to him. Percy was the closest he ever got, but wrapped up in anger and loathing and fear so strong it could have shaken mountains Nico had never even dared to think about Percy in that way. Nico probably would have died of embarrassment and shame if had even dared. And besides how could he, when he didn’t know what even constituted that way?

The only relationship he could compare to what he had with Will was between his mother and Hades, and his memories had been mostly leeched away by Lethe water and left murky. In general his childhood memories were scarce as a shooting star, but one such memory could serve as a starting point of sorts. The times when Hades had come had been marvelous times at the di Angelo household, full of laughter and music and light. His mother would open her drawers of her most precious things, and let down the waves of her dark hair. Nico hadn’t understood all those sweet things his mother did for Hades as a child, why she would powder her skin so it was soft and smelt like roses after a long bath, or wear her most beautiful nightgowns with silk spider webs of lace to bed despite the weather, but Nico and Bianca had loved seeing her so happy so it hadn’t mattered.

And she wasn’t the only one who became caught up. Nico reasoned that there was a mental distinction between his father and Hades that he often drew even though they were the same person. Lord Hades was strict and cold, sharp and as distant as a cliff’s edge on a usual day, his anger was deep and terrifying, his humor flat, his affection and pride cool and thoughtful and hard-earned. His father was softer and languid and existed in that murky place where he didn’t quite fit, and yet those lover-cares his mother had taken were reflected in him. In how he would wrap his arms around his mother’s waist and tuck her into his side as he hummed with a sigh of pleasure so profound even as a child he had been enraptured. It was how he pressed kisses to the ends of Bianca’s braids as she giggled so carefully as if Bianca would break at the barest of his touch. In how his father would reach down to grasp his hand in a crowd so he wouldn’t lose Nico, and had made Nico smile for three days straight when he had brought the book Nico had eyed in a store front longingly without Nico even asking for it. How his father would take sips from his mother’s mug and kiss the back of her ear so she would laugh and swat him away.

Those silly sentimental things that his parents had done for one another culminated into action. And Nico remembered on one such occasion with his father visiting catching a glimpse of his mother’s dark hair stark against her skin and his father’s mouth pressed against the swell of her chest when Nico had awoken from a dream and had padded towards his mother’s room unwittingly during one of those visits. Nico had promptly run back to his room as fast as his legs could carry him, and had hidden squarely underneath the covers with his face burning. Nico had known he had seen something private and tender, but had no words or explanation for it. Nico had almost been inconsolable the next day.

_Are you hurt? Papa was biting you!_ Nico had asked worriedly between the good morning kisses that his mother peppered his face with. His mother had gone red up to her roots as his father—Lord Hades himself—had been wide-eyed with a look of absolute horror that Nico didn’t think he had or would ever see replicated by him.

_So embarrassing,_ Nico thought pressing his hands to his very flushed cheeks. But he knew his parents had loved each other, deeply and ardently at that. Se—lovemaking was part of that kind of relationship for them, after all he had been a product of that to Persephone’s continual chagrin.

(Nico supposed that Persephone could have easily excused Bianca, but Nico’s existence must have been nearly unbearable for the goddess. It was complete proof that what his parents had was a love that was more than a passing fancy, it had been deep and real and threatening to her. He had taken comfort from that fact on so many lonely nights, that even if Nico felt like an unlovable disgusting broken creature sewed together with all the wrong parts, at the very least he had been a product of a mother and father’s love.)

But lovemaking with Will? Will’s mouth on his chest, golden hair splayed against his skin, mouth hot and wanting and teeth brushing against body—?

Something pulled at Nico’s belly, no, lower at the thoughts and the images that were bubbling up. It ached, the lack of the touch he wanted so badly hurt. Utterly horrified, Nico did the only thing that he could think of to stop the sudden onslaught of desire. Nico drove his hand into a nearby snow bank, grabbed a fistful of snow, and shoved it down his shirt. Nico curled in on himself, the shock of the cold against his skin making him tremble as pinpricks of ice stung. The snow melted into water that dampened his shirt and the waistband of his pants. He breathed in deep and controlled, cooling his blood with determination, breath, and snow powder.

“Are you alright?” Damien White’s voice broke through Nico’s horrifying moment. Nico looked up from where he was doubled over and crouched to see Damien and Chiara looking back at him with concern for his wet sweatshirt. They must have been in one of their “on” phases.

“You look sick, should I go get Will?” Chiara asked with her musically accented voice.

“No!” Nico said took quickly, standing up woodenly. “No, I’m fine. I’m going back to my cabin— to, uh, get changed.”

Nico sprinted towards his cabin and slammed the door close. He collapsed on his bed face down and with no desire to move, despite the fact he had tracked in mud and was probably getting his covers wet. He stayed there in spite of the multitude of things he needed to do that day, and somewhere along the line he drifted into a fitful nap. Nico awoke later with a dull pounding headache and feeling downright gross, the result of a too-long sleep, acknowledging the sun had set long ago and it was some hour of night but Nico didn’t care enough to look. 

He meandered to the bathroom. He stripped off his stiff-dried clothes and stepped into the shower. Cleaning himself off was usually a mechanical function, a time when Nico tended to turn off his brain and just go through the motions. But today Nico stuck closely to his thoughts, as he thumbed the thick scars that ran over his shoulder from his fight with the werewolf king, the remnants of the long scratches he had gotten across his belly from his tangle with an echidna when he had accidentally shadow traveled to the Balkans, the gouged fang marks on his calf from that time a telekhine in the Pearl District of Portland thought he made a nice chew toy. The other miscellaneous scars that Nico couldn’t place even if he wanted to, the attacks and fights and battles that all ran together like ink on a wet piece of paper. Nico was rangy and scruffy and scrawny—could Will even find him attractive enough to want to look at him without clothes on?

The idea that Will might be interested in Nico that way had honestly never occurred to him, and the thought made Nico woozy enough in the steam and hot water that he needed to place his forehead against cool marble to steady himself once more. Nico felt somewhat foolish now, as he twisted his ring on his finger. Of course Will was, after all, Will liked Nico enough to kiss him every day and hold his hand and sling his arms around Nico’s shoulder at even the slightest of shivers. 

But in Nico’s mind he was first and foremost a wild creature of some sort—an animal, a silent hunter, a stalker of prey in a darkened forest. Perhaps he was more akin to the screech-owls that haunted his father’s throne room than to other demigods, dark and hollow-boned and able to fade quick and fast into shadow and night, striking prey and fear with equal flap of wing. And then there was Will Solace. Will Solace who was like a lanky tomcat sunbathing at a window, stretching and rumbling with contented purrs, who radiated sunlight and warmth and was distinctly and utterly male in a way that could make Nico’s head whirl and do silly things to his stomach.

But isn’t a housecat a hunter too? Nico thought as he turned off the water and grabbed one of his towel to dry off. Will wasn’t a fragile creature that Nico might break with talons and beak. Maybe Will would look at his limbs which were cracked and marred like a barren boughs and find something beautiful there.

At the very least Nico needed to talk with him, just to set the record straight.

And so Nico slipped into pajamas and curled back in bed, knowing it would be a long night ahead of him.

* * *

_His dreams were confused and strange. He caught mourning doves with his talons and ripped them open to eat, spilling blood on fresh snow. There was precious little meat on their bones but Nico had to hunt, keep hunting, that was his fate forever and entire. And yet he was starved, as he remained in the hollow of an old oak tree. He would not live long in these empty winter days._

_“Come down to me,” a boy with hair the color of gold bid. “Shed your feathers and let me see what lays underneath.”_

_No, Nico hissed at him from the hollow in the tree. There is nothing beautiful beneath my feathers, there’s only hunger._

_“Are you truly so frightened that you would hurt me?” he asked patiently. “I am a hunter as well, I am not a fragile creature that you will break.”_

_Why me? Nico wished to ask. You could have any other, but why me?_

_As if sensing Nico’s question, the boy smiled up at him as bright as the sun against the snow._

_“Because I love you,” he said calmly and firmly, as if the fact was obvious and Nico had simply been unable to see it. “From beak to tail feathers, I love you.”_

_And so Nico followed the boy, but kept back at a distance as he flew from bough to bough. Nico knew about places for birds, cages and buckets with holes and straps meant to keep one down, and promised himself he would not be tricked. And then as Nico’s dreams went, he was suddenly in a different place. He was resting on the back of a chair, a whole table spread with riches for him to enjoy. Roast turkey with its crispy skin steaming and rubbed with thyme and butter and pepper, rabbits braised in red wine gravy and currant jelly, meadowlarks and starlings and blackbirds baked into pie._

_“Won’t you shed your feathers, so you may enjoy what I have prepared for you?” the golden boy asked bashfully, and perhaps he was a hunter. Or at least a talented trapper, adept at snares. And this was the most beautiful snare Nico had ever seen._

_Why? So you may pluck them out of my skin and use them to stuff a downy scarf? Nico called to him raspy and guarded, his stomach was so empty and he couldn’t have been more impressed by anything but he could not trust._

_“I give everything freely, because of my love for you. Won’t you trust it?” he asked him, his eyes the color of bluebells peeping out from a snow drift._

_No, Nico told him mournfully. I cannot, after all, what have I done to earn your love?_

_“You did not need to do anything, I fell for you of my own free will. But if that is not what you desire, I will not force you,” the boy promised him, his expression so sad that Nico had to hold himself back from flying into his arms and comforting him._

_The night wore on, fast or slow Nico could not tell in his dream. The boy lay himself to sleep by the fireplace that burned clean wood smoke up the chimney, curled in golden fur that must have belonged to him. But why? Why would his golden boy shed such a beautiful skin? Was this yet another thing that Nico could not repay?_

_Nico fluttered close, talons tapping against the wood floor. His boy glowed with the light of the embers and the flickering flame, dawn itself painting itself on his skin. Nico wanted things now, things he had never thought or dreamed of. This boy was a part of him, and he was a part that Nico could never replace._

_This is what being in love felt like, Nico suddenly understood with the force of a lightning strike in the hollow of a tree. This pretty precious love his mother had coveted and cared for and cultivated with his father until it bore fruit was not forbidden to him. It was here in sky edged eyes and skin marked with constellations and dyed the colors of the sky. Love wasn’t meant to be that broken and hurting and hurtful thing, discarded and loathed and sacrificed to until it was bloating and poisonous. This is what being in love felt like, and Nico didn’t want to go back. Not now or ever._

_Nico shed his feathers, revealing the boy underneath. His boy stirred and looked up at Nico in wonder, in awe. His fingers trembled as he reached for Nico, and Nico grabbed his hand and kissed his palm before placing it on his cheek. His skin was deliciously hot and Nico bit back a groan as his fingers trailed the side of his neck, his collarbone, his chest._

_“You are perfect,” his boy said in light of all of Nico’s imperfection._

_“I love you,” Nico admitted, leaning down to kiss his mouth—Will’s mouth. Will whimpered deep in the back of his throat, tugging Nico down to lay tucked firmly against Will’s side, body upon body pressed flushed and wanting._

_Will you make me shine with your love? Nico asked him._

* * *

The next morning he woke up, and nearly dragged himself to the pavilion to get food. Will wasn’t there, as Cecil explained Will had gotten tied up in sorting out the aftermath of a scuffle between Sherman Yang and Alice Miyazawa from Hermes regarding a water gun, five pounds of Chex mix, a Food and Wine Magazine subscription, and a few fire crackers. Nico didn’t ask about the details because he was sporting a low-grade headache that even coffee and waffles drowning and syrup were not helping.

“Wow Nico, you are looking especially cheery today,” Lou Ellen noted as his sipped his second helping of coffee outside the pavilion.

“Do you know anything about dreams?” Nico asked her, not even bothering to acknowledge her comment as he drained his cup and tossed it in the trash.

“Sure! There are some interesting mythologies surrounding dreams and dream symbolism,” Lou Ellen nearly chirped. Cecil Markowitz gave Nico a look.

“Isn’t that kind of Clovis’ area?” Cecil asked Nico.

“Clovis has got his face in a bowl of Lucky Charms currently so he won’t be much help to me or anyone,” Nico said as he jabbed his finger towards the aforementioned demigod who was currently indeed sleeping with his face half submerged in the bowl of milk and artificially flavored marshmallows as Nyssa Barrera and Paolo Montes tried to sit him up and slide the bowl of milk from under his head to keep him from drowning.

“The boy’s got a gift,” Cecil said with a shake of his head.

“So what happened in the dream?” Lou Ellen asked him curiously.

“I don’t really remember, but I think I was a bird? An owl maybe? I remember I was in a cabin of some kind…uh…Will was also there but he was a person, or maybe he was a cat?” Nico said as he rubbed his temples. “I don’t know it’s all sort of blurry.”

“Dude, you’ve got some weird kinks,” Cecil commented.

“Don’t make me break your face because I will,” Nico warned him.

“Well owls are a signifier of magic and wisdom, and are your father’s sacred animal right? Cats are usually associated with more feminine sources of power and um…sexuality. But also independence and creativity,” Lou Ellen said as she tugged on a strand of dark hair thoughtfully. “Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“I prefer prophetic dreams, at least those make sense,” Nico grumbled under his breath. “But thanks anyways.”

“Nico, by the way, talk to Will today please about whatever happened between you two. Because he’s acting weird and it’s driving me crazy,” Cecil told him before he and Lou Ellen walked off chatting as usual. 

This brought Nico back to his original dilemma. Nico waited patiently outside the infirmary, and the moment Will saw Nico he invited Nico along on a quick errand, and Nico seized his chance.

“I’m sorry,” Nico blurted out, the moment that he and Will were alone together. They were in Cabin Seven, Will had been fishing in his drawers for a pack of bandaids that Will had sworn were in his sock drawer, and something had come over Nico and he just needed to get it out.

Will drew together his brows, looking confused and concerned (and so very cute).

“Ok. I’ll bite. What are you sorry about?” Will asked, sounding clueless, which somehow made everything even worse because Will hadn’t been agonizing over anything like Nico had and Nico was obviously just an idiot.

“I…the other day—I mean, about the other day. I’m sorry about the other day,” Nico fumbled, angrily glaring at an abandoned sock that had the gall to be on the floor.

“Oh.”

Nico at this point worked up the nerve to look at Will’s face, to his further irritation Will’s flushed cheeks were so cute that he wanted to kiss them. How dare Will look so cute at a moment like this. And not just that, Nico realized suddenly that he never realized how long Will’s lashes were—pale and in the low light of the cabin they looked like threads of white-gold against the blue of his eyes. The realization did funny things to his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Nico repeated, crossing his arms over his chest because he didn’t know what to do with them, and hoping the pressure would calm the fluttering in his belly. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Will told him, shaking his head before giving Nico a tender smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I did! I definitely did something wrong.”

“Please tell me what you think you did wrong so we can work it out,” Will asked of him.

“Would you like the list in alphabetical or numerical order?”

“Nico, please, just talk to me for a second without being sassy, not that I don’t find that an attractive feature of your personality but we’ve got something important to deal with at hand.”

“I’m sorry because I—I don’t know anything about doing things that are more than kissing!” Nico snapped angry and frustrated at himself because this wasn’t how he had wanted this conversation to go but it was heading down this road like an out of control eighteen wheeler with no lane to stop it. “And I even hit you because I’m such an idiot and—“

“Nico,” Will’s voice came firm, his cheeks were still bright but his eyes were determined. “Nico, its okay not to be ready, and don’t you dare let anyone else tell you otherwise. For the sake of the Gods, your body reacted, you didn’t hit me, and its okay not to be ready to have sex with me. Please don’t beat yourself up over—”

“It’s not that I—I don’t know how to do any of that stuff!” Nico said grabbing Will’s arm because he couldn’t stand the space Will was putting between them. “I don’t even know what I want, but I want everything with you. Everything, Will. I want it all. I just…I just don’t know what any of it is. I don’t know how it works…I…I don’t know how to make you happy.” 

“Nico,” Will said, suddenly cupping his face, his eyes so soft. “Did no one ever…explain anything to you? No one ever talked to you about sex?”

“Who should I have asked?” Nico asked, looking away pointedly. “You think I’m an idiot don’t you?” 

“Why would I think you’re an idiot?” Will asked him in return, his gaze still searching and gentle.

“I keep messing everything up,” Nico tried to explain, as Will pressed his forehead against Nico’s. The touch was merciful, feeding something in Nico that had long since been starved.

“I don’t think that,” Will said with laughter that rumbled in his chest.

“You ought to.”

“Don’t go telling me what to do, Death Boy,” Will teased, wrapping his arms around Nico and pulling him into a hug. “You make me happy by just being with me, everything else like the kisses and the hugs are just an added bonus. Don’t ever think any different. I’ll get a responsible adult and some reading material for you so you can get squared away.”

“A responsible adult?”

“Well…someone who isn’t me would be probably the best choice,” Will chuckled as he rubbed Nico’s back thoughtfully and like always it felt so good. “I may love you, but I’m not going to give you the Talk. I don’t think that’s very appropriate.”

“Mmmph,” Nico sighed as he rested against Will’s shoulder. “Alright, just not Mr. D though. I don’t feel like being scarred for life.”

“That can be arranged,” Will laughed as he kissed Nico’s ear and nuzzled against his cheek.

“And we’ll take things at our own pace?” Nico asked as he ran his fingers along Will’s arm.

“I’m not going anywhere too fast,” Will promised. “We’ll work things out as we go along, isn’t that how we do everything. Besides this is all new for me too, don’t forget.” 

“I’m ready for that,” Nico told him honestly, before saying with more certainty than ever before, “I’m ready for this, if you are.” 

“I might have to keep you,” Will said as he gave him a sudden bear hug, making Nico squawk in embarrassment.

“Way to ruin the moment, Solace!”

“But you love me regardless,” Will said pressing a kiss to the top of Nico’s head.

“Yeah,” Nico said with a content sigh. “Yeah I kinda do.”


	2. Gentle Sweethearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Will wasn’t a fragile creature that Nico might break with talons and beak. Maybe Will would look at his limbs which were cracked and marred like a barren boughs and find something beautiful there." In the reflective days between Christmas and New Years, Nico learns more about his desires and their roots. As well as the boy who is making them blossom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this could have been a stand-alone piece, but since it carries over to much from my fic Lover-Cares in tone and general themes I sort of had to make this the second chapter. Also, Will power-bottoming is my new aesthetic in Solangelo sex fanfics guys. Also this has some stuff that is related to my Will Solace backstory titled Like Matchsticks, but you don’t need to read that to understand the fic. Also this is skipped ahead about a year and a half, so both Will and Nico are eighteen.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Trigger warning: Sexual Content

Will’s grandparent’s home was empty when they arrived, battered and bruised and in general very in need of food. Nico half-threw their bags on the floor, away from their stumbling feet as they crossed the threshold, before closing both the screen door and the actual door behind him. For a moment he sighed, resting against the door, before gathering his thoughts cohesively.

“Let’s go tour colleges, he said. It will be fun, he said,” Nico nearly snapped at Will as Will collapsed onto the couch.

“How was I to know that the University of Alabama had a whole sorority of Empousa? It’s not like they put that on the brochure!” Will asked Nico with a groan as he rubbed his side. “Ow, ribs. Who knew that a hair iron could make such an effective javelin?”

“Where’s the ambrosia?” Nico said as he shuffled around Will’s backpack which lay on its side rather unceremoniously.

“Second pocket down on the front,” Will told him, and Nico found the inconspicuous tin and opened it. He grabbed a piece, and nearly shoved it in Will’s face, watching carefully as Will chewed and swallowed. Afterwards, he gave Nico a look. “You shadow-traveled us pretty far. You take some too.”

“Fine,” Nico said, breaking off a side and chewing and swallowing, and he even opened his mouth to show Will his clean tongue, to which Will gave Nico a playful shove. “Where are your grandparents?”

“My grandpa has a conference in San Antonio tomorrow, and my grandma went with him,” Will said, pulling himself up to rest more comfortably on the pillow on the armrest. Nico helped him scoot up to which Will gave him a thankful smile for. “We should have the house to ourselves for the night. That’ll be enough time for you to get some rest.”

“Is there any food in the house?”

“I’m sure there’s stuff around, we can head to the store in town for milk and bread,” Will said quietly. “Right now I want to take a nap, it’ll help heal up my ribs…which I do think are possibly fractured.”

“You do that, I can go to the store,” Nico promised him but Will shook his head and reached to trace around Nico’s waist.

“You should nap with me,” Will told him. “It’ll be good for you. The couch is big and I can spare a few inches.” 

“You are needy,” Nico murmured as he grabbed a quilt from one of the other chairs. He slid in beside Will, pulling up the quilt to blanket them. 

“As if I’m the only one,” Will laughed against the skin of Nico’s throat. And yes, Nico thought oddly hungry, but not for anything he could really taste. The feeling of sleeping next to this boy with his gloriously warm body was something that Nico didn’t think he would ever get over, he was greedy for it.

And so Nico just nuzzled in closer to him, savoring the sensation of being in Will’s arms.

* * *

When Nico saw Will flinch, Nico resolutely told him to stay put in the house and give his ribs a few more hours to heal up as Nico decided to venture out to get the things that Will diligently wrote down on the list and go to the store that Will had written the directions to. Nico summoned up skeleton guards and ordered them to guard the manor and let Nico know immediately if anything should attack, before heading off to the store.

It was a small family run grocer and country store. Nico ducked in, hoping to attract as little attention as possible. But Will’s home town of Abundance was so small that his presence immediately caught the eye of the middle-aged man behind the counter.

“You’re William Solace’s boy ain’t ya?” the man asked him, and Nico looked at him in surprise. “I remember you from when you and Will visited, you came to church.”

“That we did,” Nico told him pointedly as he put the gallon of milk, the buttermilk, cream, some cold cuts, bread, and sugar up on the counter.

“What are you doing in town? Pastor Solace and Mrs. Florence are off in San Antonio ain’t they?” the man said giving Nico a look as he began to ring up the groceries.

“We were around, touring colleges. Pastor Solace told us we could stay at his house, you know, let some air in before we left for the next college,” Nico lied smoothly. “Will’s still resting so I came out to grab some stuff.”

“College, huh?” the man said as he rubbed his chin before Nico handed him Hades’ credit card. “I remember when Will Solace was knee high and ran around here with as much energy as a puppy. Time flies. I’m Ernest Blackwood, by the way.”

“Nico di Angelo,” Nico reintroduced, taking his card back. “Can you double bag is by any chance. I’ve got a walk back.”

“Are you sure? I can get my son from the back and he can drive you back to Solace Manor no problem.”

“Don’t worry,” Nico promised with a sort of smile. “I can definitely handle this.”

When Nico finally got back to Solace Manor, Nico was immediately almost blown back by the cripplingly good smell coming from the kitchen. There was a jug of something that smelt like holiday brew on the stove, something on the cooling rack was wafting the headiness of vanilla and butter into the air until it was nearly heavy with it.

Will stood in the kitchen, a flour dusted apron around his waist, eyes glinting a warm blue-bell blue. Nico felt like he was nailed to the floor, suddenly besieged by the desire to wrap his arms around Will’s neck and drown him in kisses. Enough kisses to equal the stars in the sky. But he held himself back diligently, after all, Will’s ribs were still healing.

“Welcome back,” Will said before looking oddly bashful. “Mama had some cider in the fridge, and I know that shadow traveling brings down your core temperature so I thought maybe that would be a good idea. But I mean…now that we have cream I could make coffee instead? Or sweet tea?”

“No,” Nico said with so much conviction it even he was surprised. “Whatever you are doing smells great.”

“Thanks,” Will said, his cheeks looking warmed. “Throw that stuff in the fridge? I’ll start working on dinner pretty soon.”

“Can I do anything to help?” Nico asked Will as he sat at the kitchen table.

“Tell me if this stuff’s any good,” Will told him as he took the kettle off the stove, placing a nearly bowl-sized mug in front of Nico on a pretty coaster. He poured the piping hot liquid in, and the steam was enough to make Nico shudder. Apples finely pressed, cloves and cinnamon and allspice. It was tart, but it was also sweet with the lingering taste of citrus.

“Oh Gods this is amazing,” Nico nearly groaned, blowing on the cider before taking another swig as the spices heated him all the way down, almost banished the shadow-wisps still lingering at his edges hopeful to pull him down. 

“The secret it to sweeten it with brown sugar, then simmer it with a slice or two of orange. My Mama usually makes homemade whip cream with nutmeg in it too, but, you just came home with the cream. You can also add bourbon but I’m pretty sure my Papa wouldn’t appreciate us rummaging in the liquor cabinet,” Will explained as he slid into the seat next to Nico after depositing the apron on a hook. “Do you want some cookies?”

“I thought you said you were going to make us dinner,” Nico said suspiciously.

“Well, I was planning on making us some sausage gravy and some biscuits, but I don’t mind if you cheat,” Will chuckled.

“No, I’ll wait,” Nico said before lifting the mug to Will’s mouth. “You have some too, I feel stupid drinking this by myself.”

“I had a couple sips when I was making it, to make sure it tasted alright,” Will chuckled, and Nico couldn’t help but flush as Will’s fingers cupped his own and he brought the mug to his mouth. The revelation that Will had tasted the cider, dipping in his spoon while he simmered it, and was now sharing a mug with him, was so strangely intimate that it made Nico almost tremble.

“I’ll make dinner,” Nico said quietly. “It’s not fair…for you to do all the cooking.”

“What if I don’t want you to get up to make dinner?” Will asked him teasingly, lifting Nico’s hand to kiss it.

“Then I guess we’re having cider and cookies for dinner?” Nico offered. Will’s laughter came bright and unexpected, and he leaned over to kiss the top of his head, his mouth warm and sweet against his forehead.

“How about we just do sandwiches then?” Will offered, and Nico nodded his head and kept his hands clutched around the chair, knowing if he let go he would be flinging himself into Will’s arms across the kitchen because it was so good. Almost too good. Watching Will’s honeyed curls bounce in the kitchen as he sliced bread and baked cookies, and Nico could almost imagine things that would have been too embarrassing to admit to anyone, especially Will Solace in this cozy kitchen that smelt like a fantasy with a warm mouth that made him melt as he looked like a happy bridegroom preparing for a beloved’s return home. 

The shared bites of roast beef sandwiches spread with sharp mustard and layered with cheese. Nico almost cried at the cookies that were basically made of butter as he couldn’t help but lick the oil from his fingers as they melted over his tongue. Shadowtraveling had left him more ravenous then Nico had expected, his long-suppressed appetite becoming a subtle roar.

However, Nico did not fail to notice the way that Will rubbed his side mindfully.

“You should go lay down,” Nico told him honestly as he separated himself from his desire to keep eating. “Your ribs are still healing.”

“I know…I know,” Will said as he laboriously went to the couch to lay down, Nico dutifully pulled up the blankets yet again before frowning. Will had taken care of him, so it was only right that Nico repay the debt.

“Your grandparents have a bathtub, right? I’ll go draw you a bath,” Nico promised Will, whose eyes went wide.

“You don’t have too,” Will said, his cheeks bright and red. 

“It’s no problem,” Nico said, unable to help the odd scratchy feeling at the back of his throat.

Nico nearly ran to the bathroom with his heart pounding in his ears. He stripped off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He drew the water, making sure it was hot, and looked at the array of shampoos and soaps without finding anything that he would like. He quickly made his way back into the kitchen, seeing Will dozing on the couch yet again. From the pantry he pulled ground oatmeal and powdered milk, bringing them into the bathroom with peppermint oil. He measured out the cups, stirring the powders in until the water was silky to the touch and added the peppermint drops until he gained the desired effect.

It was a poor recreation of what his mother used to do. He remembered the cares she went through, to heat the bath perfectly, to pour in just enough milk to color the water cream and light the candles so that the musk of them burned sweet smoke. His mother used to tell him and Bianca about how milkmaids in the north used to wash their faces with milk to keep their faces fresh, about the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra who soaked in baths of cream and honey to keep herself so radiant that all the men who looked at her fell in love. Bianca had particularly liked that tale, Nico recalled with some clarity. Bianca had giggled as their mother had flicked the bathwater so they could both feel the velvet suppleness the water lent her skin, and Nico remembered how nice that time had been. His mother had dropped something into the bath, so that the water took on a shimmer of golden oil at the top, the expense exorbitant and almost unbelievable and shooed both Nico and Bianca out. Back then, he had thought his parents had shared the bath because it would have been ridiculous to pull up two the same, considered now Nico thought very differently. How lovely it would have been, to be bathed by your lover’s hands. 

Wait…golden oil?

Nico unscrewed the bottle of nectar, and added only drops, watching as the familiar sheen covered the liquid. Nico stirred it with his hand, and almost groaned because the water felt so good. Most certainly it would sooth Will’s hurt, this bath potion his mother had devised for the Under-King himself. If he gave it to Aphrodite Cabin, it may have even made him a few bucks he could use to take Will out somewhere nice to eat. Even if Drew Tanaka was sort of awful, she was generous with those who gave her nice things, and the girl had A Class connections. 

“Holy Hera, did you make me a milk bath?” Will asked, looking deliciously mused and warm, with the quilt still over his shoulders, and Nico wanted to sink into his arms.

“Powdered milk my mom—my mom used to do this with her baths,” Nico said as he palmed the back of his neck, embarrassment welling up inside of him, not willing to admit anything else. Realizing he was staring, Nico stood woodenly to get up, but Will caught his hand.

“You…you don’t have to go, if you don’t want to,” Will said shyly.

“Um…well, I’m not exactly the one who would be naked, Sunshine,” Nico informed him, trying to have a straight face but it wasn’t exactly working.

“I…I want you to stay,” Will told him.

“Okay,” Nico said slowly, settling down by the lip of the tub.

Nico pointedly looked away when Will was undressing. He had seen Will naked before, it was true, when things had gotten heated previously. But it was the principle of Will being undressed and Nico being fully clothed that made Nico look away with his ears burning. Nico finally looked up when Will was attempting to lower himself into the bath, and Nico reached to help steady him and give him more support wrapping his arms under Will’s armpits and helping him get in. Will was tall, a bit taller than what the bath was built for, so he had to bend his legs so his knees peeped out of the water. And yet Nico found it so adorable that he couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh Gods, this feels really good and it smells amazing, what did you put in here?” Will asked him curiously, the liquid in the bath sloshing as he dipped his shoulders in.

“Nectar and peppermint,” Nico informed him.

“No kidding? Austin’s gotten really into aromatherapy so I’ll have to let him know. Mitchell from Aphrodite is super into essential oils too,” Will said with a grin, sitting back up and slinging his arms around the side of the tub, the sight of his gorgeous bear skin making Nico even more flushed as he grabbed a wash cloth from the cupboard and dipped it in the water. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to wash your back,” Nico told him as a matter-of-factly as he could.

“You don’t need to do that,” Will said, his eyes wide.

“No of course I don’t need to do anything, but, it’ll probably be better than you trying to reach around and strain your side,” Nico said, choosing one of the bars of soap and rubbing it against the wet cloth until it foamed up. He gently lathered up Will’s back, and he noticed as Will shivered, which led Nico to pause in turn because Will’s back was broad and gold and dappled with freckles and he was making Will tremble.

“Oh wow, this feels good and embarrassing,” Will noted with a half-choking laugh.

“Embarrassing?” Nico asked, his voice oddly high.

“You’re…um…really pampering me today,” Will told him, looking back, his face and chest rosy from the heat and probably also the sensation. 

“Says the guy who literally baked me cookies,” Nico snorted as he continued to lather and wash, almost mechanically, trying to steer his brain away from any wayward thoughts as he worked the wash Will’s arms. 

“We both have our reasons, Death Boy,” Will said before sighing. With the reflexes of a battle-ready demigod, Will grasped Nico’s wrist and pressed a sloppy and slobbery kiss to the palm of his hand, making him squawk and throw the wash cloth at Will’s face.

“Asshole,” Nico told him, trying to hide his amusement beneath his blasé expression.

“But I’m your asshole,” Will nearly sang.

“Soak for a while, I’m going to go watch TV and change into my pajamas,” Nico told him, leaning down to press a kiss to Will’s cheek, Will nuzzled against his kiss fondly like a cat who got the cream.

“Go order something good on On Demand, I think a movie night is in order.”

* * *

Will fell into his bed with Nico already on it, and Nico gave him a look as the whole thing bounced. Nico really couldn’t be mad at him, not when he was still warm from the bath, smelt so good, and his curls were still damp and he was looking gloriously ruffled and perfect next to him. But Nico could definitely make a show of it by huffing and scooting over to give him room.

“Hey Nico,” Will hummed, reaching to trace Nico’s cheek.

“Yeah?”

“Have I told you that I love you today?” Will asked him, eyes so blue and smile so sweet.

“Not that I can remember,” Nico answered coyly with a sigh as he rested his head on his hand.

“I love you,” Will said as he craned his head up, and Nico dipped his face down to meet his lips. Will’s lips melted against Nico’s and it felt so right, a Will bid Nico to open his mouth as he combed his hair from his face, and Nico shifted so that he could straddle Will and give him more access and place them both in a more comfortable position to kiss. Nico wanted Will to be greedy, to demand more of him, but as the patient and gentle sweetheart he was he waited until Nico shed his shirt before beginning to trace his sides with fever hot fingers.

“I love you too,” Nico said, after releasing Will’s bottom lip from the soft tug of his teeth. Both of them were breathless, and Nico felt the very common ache in his center as he acknowledged the growing swell in Will’s sweatpants and how good it looked with Will’s white tee-shirt riding up and the way his pants dipped low to reveal the waist of his boxers.

Will reached slowly, locking eyes with Nico who nodded as Will tore off his own shirt and reached over the side of the bed to grab his backpack. Nico tried to quickly remove his sweatpants but found himself tipping over, and Will laughed as he steadied him. Nico flushed bright red as he saw the bottle in Will’s hands.

“You brought lube with you?” Nico asked him, eyeing the bottle suspiciously.

“It wasn’t exactly for the reason you’re thinking of, though, a boy can dream of getting lucky. I’d only…hoped, you know? It just, you know, feels really good to do it when you are touching yourself down there,” Will chuckled into Nico’s ear, teeth brushing his lobe. “You definitely need lube to do it though.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t sound so enthused,” Will laughed, a burst of brightness that made Nico’s lips tug up as well.

“Well…I know that you can do it but it…seemed sort of strange, I never thought to try it,” Nico explained as he sat back against his heels.

“Perhaps a demonstration is in order?” Will offered as he pulled off his sweatpants.

“You mean…?”

“I don’t mind being on the bottom,” Will informed him with a shrug. “I kind of figured that this was how this was going to work out, considering I had a sneaking suspicion you had never tried the whole fingering thing and trust me I wouldn’t want to try anal sex without you having a little experience under your belt of what that feels like.”

“And you don’t mind? Really?”

“Nico, my hot boyfriend is in front of me turned on. I’ve thought about this happening both ways, and trust me, I’m pretty pleased with how this whole situation is turning out,” Will said, pulling Nico into a blistering kiss. “So are you ready for this?”

“Yes, yes, a thousand time yes,” Nico said as he nearly sprained his neck with how much he was nodding. Will guffawed, before kissing Nico again, Nico let Will pull down his boxers to reveal his half-hard cock, and he shuddered as Will’s fingers slid along the side.

“Feel good?” Will asked, and Nico moaned and dug his fingers into Will’s shoulders before spitting into his palm and reaching down through Will’s boxers to grab and pump his length. Nico remembered somewhat fondly the surprise both of them got when they realized that Nico was very much uncut, and Will was circumcised and the fumbling and embarrassment that went with the rather untimely revelations. Nico gasped as Will’s teeth tugged on his nipple, and Nico attempted to focus on divesting Will of his boxers.

They fell backwards together, Will straddling Nico’s hips, Nico’s hand still cupping both of them as Will reached for the lube with trembling fingers. Nico was amazed as Will moaned, completely spellbound by how utterly sexy Will sounded, and he must have stopped his hand before Will looked up.

“Don’t stop…I gotta prep myself,” Will said between hitched breath, pressing his forehead against Nico’s. Stupid sons of Apollo, Nico thought, and somehow Will didn’t think he received any of Apollo’s musical gifts when he had the gall to sound that good.

“Do you…do you do this a lot?” Nico asked, his face feeling warm and pleasure tugging at his gut just from how Will looked with his brows drawn in concentration and how his shoulders were trembling with pleasure.

“Yeah…it feels good,” Will groaned as he bit his lip, and Nico looked down to see him adding another finger inside. “But it’s never felt like…ah…this before.”

“Sounds…sounds like it,” Nico stumbled as he kissed Will’s neck, his lips fumbling across Will’s jaw and chin, tongue dragging across the places that made Will sigh.

“If you wanted…I could do this to you,” Will said pulling away slightly with a wicked grin, despite how much Nico wanted to keep tasting of his skin. “Or maybe give you a blow job, if you are in the mood for that.”

“I think I’d die if we did that right now, and I don’t think my father would be very pleased to see me considering the situation,” Nico admitted awkwardly.

“Oh for the sake of the Gods, let’s not talk about your father right now,” Will said as he broke out in giggles that Nico couldn’t help but respond with a smile to, as Will reached to roll on the condom on Nico and slick Nico up with lube. Nico desperately shoved Will’s pillows off the bed, his back hitting the headboard as Will positioned himself above Nico’s thighs.

“Are you…are you ready for this?” Nico asked him, his mouth oddly dry.

“Hell yeah,” Will answered with a smile, cupping Nico’s face. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Nico promised.

“You really sure?”

“Yes—Will stop being difficult.”

“I have to check,” Will said with a gentle smile. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Nico’s brain stopped functioning the second Will lowered himself down oh so carefully. The sensation was so strong that Nico felt his eyes roll up in the back of his head for a moment because it was so warm and he had never felt anything so good before. Will gasped into his mouth, and Nico could feel his insides tighten, making them both groan.

“Does it…does it hurt?” Nico asked worriedly, biting the inside of his cheek, pushing down everything to check with Will who just shook his head in response.

“No…you’re just big…let me get used to it for a sec,” Will said as he took a breath in. They passed a few breathless moments like that, pressed together, Will’s fingers absentmindedly tracing Nico’s scars before Will answered. “I’m going to lay on my back, you can start moving.”

Will lay back, and Nico’s body responded by thrusting forward to seat himself again. Nico felt as if something had a stranglehold on his heart, because Will looked so good underneath him, stretched out and flushed as his breath hitched with his movements. Nico tried his best to listen to Will’s requests over the pounding need that was singeing his veins and making everything nearly impossible to think around.

“I’m sorry I’m going to come,” Nico admitted frantically, knowing that he was coming way too quickly, but being unable to stop it. 

“It’s okay,” Will promised, wrapping his legs around Nico’s waist, Nico thrusted and suddenly Will’s eyes flew open and he went stiff. Both of them stilled for a moment before Will looked at Nico intensely. “Do that again.”

Nico attempted to recreated the movement, Will’s groans in response to Nico’s desperate pants was electrifying. Nico dove down hungrily to kiss Will again, like a bird in search of prey. Will’s hands dug into Nico’s back, they both whimpering with pleasure as Will clamped down on him.

Nico came and his vision swam with the force of it, he collapsed boneless on top of Will.

“Touch me,” Will whispered in his ear and Nico did so, after a few purposeful strokes Nico felt Will’s fingers dig into Nico’s wrist as he came in spurts that painted both of their chests. Nico half-rolled off of Will, throwing out the condom in the trash. For a moment, Nico lay on his side, with no energy to move, and Nico felt Will press against Nico to spoon him.

“That was…” Nico tried to say but floundered as words failed him.

“Really intense?” Will offered, propping up, a big goofy grin on his face, his eyes still half-masted with the afterglow.

“I was kind of awful wasn’t I?” Nico muttered under his breath.

“Trust me, if I had topped I think I would have lasted all of thirty seconds considering how gosh darn sexy you looked,” Will promised as he kissed Nico’s shoulder. “We lasted…uh…a couple minutes? Considering we are both lusty eighteen year olds I would say we did a fairly decent job.”

“Did you really just say gosh darn?” Nico asked him, quirking a brow as he turned to look at Will who suddenly without warning put all his weight on Nico and nearly crushed Nico under him. “Get off! Gods, you are heavy and sweaty!”

“I’m sorry that I ruined the fact you gave me that nice bath,” Will chuckled before motioning towards the general mess that they both were. “Though, showering again probably wouldn’t be that bad of an idea.”

“You just want an excuse to keep me naked longer!”

“If I confirm your hypothesis would you punch me?”

Nico did one better, and shut Will’s mouth up with his own.

* * *

“Look who got loved right,” Drew Tanaka called as Nico and Will passed Aphrodite Cabin’s table a few days later. They had arrived back in time for dinner, and of course, Nico had known better than to expect a quiet return at Camp Half-Blood.

“Drew—“ Will began to say before Nico just scoffed and kept walking.

“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful and hitting a hottie in bed unlike someone I know,” Nico told her with a roll of his eyes as he hooked his arm around Will’s and tugged him off, hearing a chorus of “ooooooooooooh burn” follow after him. He decided then and there that Sebastian would be the one getting his bath cocktail, thank you very much.

“Wow, man. Whatever happened to turn the other cheek,” Cecil commented as Will and Nico caught up to them.

“Drew Tanaka has enough ego to pad her fall,” Nico said with a scoff.

“You are beastly,” Lou Ellen said, slapping Nico a high-five.

“I know, I want to keep this between us though,” Will chuckled as he kissed the top of Nico’s head. Nico shooed him half-heartedly.

“So how was University of Alabama?” Austin asked them as they sat down at Apollo Cabin’s table with Austin and Kayla who greeted them with a smile.

“It was fine, except for the whole almost being killed by Empousa,” Nico reported as he sighed.

“So basically another day in the life of a demigod?” Kayla asked them with a shrug.

“Something like that,” Will reported as he wrapped his arm around Nico’s waist.


End file.
